Although Alex Guerrero was spotted on the Patriots flight to Carolina last week, coach Bill Belichick made it clear the topic of his involvement with the team was still not up for discussion at Monday's press conference.

"I'm not going to get in on all of the responsibilities of all of the people in our organization with you," he said when asked about Guerrero's presence on the flight. "We'd be here for a month going through all that."

Later, Belichick deferred again when he was asked if he'd given his players any instructions on commenting about Guerrero. Tom Brady ended his radio interview with WEEI earlier this morning after he was repeatedly asked about his controversial trainer.

"We're not going to get into our staff responsibilities and all of that. We'd be here for a week talking about that, so we're not getting into that," Belichick said.

Belichick also ran down the Patriots to-do list in the days before their final preseason game Friday night against the Giants at MetLife Stadium.

"We still have a lot of evaluations we're trying to work through, start to look towards the start of the season, some roster cuts breakdown, and the opportunity for players in the last preseason game here against the Giants," he said. "A combination of all those things. We're just trying to finish off with a good productive week."

Some of those roster decisions and evaluations have already started to take place.

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Wideout Kenny Britt was released last week, while fellow receiver Eric Decker and defensive back Eddie Pleasant were officially released today.

Pleasant, a former Houston Texan entering his seventh year as a pro, will presumably try to find a spot with another team, while Decker announced his retirement from the NFL on Sunday.

Decker, a familiar opponent to the Patriots throughout his career, was drafted by the Broncos in 2010 and played his first four seasons in Denver. He later spent three seasons with the Jets and last year with the Titans before signing with the Patriots during training camp earlier this summer.

"He's had a great career. I have a lot of respect for Eric going all the way back to when we talked to him coming out of Minnesota," Belichick said. "Josh (McDaniels) drafted him, Tennessee, the Jets and so forth. I enjoyed working with him. I really have a lot of respect for what he did... we wish him well and appreciate what he did."

Finally, Belichick praised guard Shaq Mason, who signed a five-year contract extension worth up to $50 million with $23.5 million guaranteed. News of the extension was first reported this afternoon by the NFL Network and later confirmed by the Herald.

"Shaq's done a good job for us from the time he got here. He came from an offense that was quite different from ours," Belichick said. "He adapted quickly and did a real good job learning new techniques. He's an athletic player... he's gotten better each year and done a good job for us."

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